Battle Pillars Devlog#6
Hi! Long time no see, I'm Jaylee, and it's finally time for another devlog.
So, more than nine months have passed. How is BP doing now?
Well, yes, I know it was originally planned as an animation project, with several episodes already in mind. But later, some new characters appeared in the world, and that also changed my plans for where the project would go next.
Eventually, I decided to first present the story of Battle Pillars through a game, and gradually develop its future story content from there. I don't think that decision is too hard to understand — animation is simply something that takes a huge amount of work.
When it comes to game development, I honestly don't know how to code, so I have been using AI to help me with programming. My process is basically to ask AI to write code, test it myself, and if something doesn't work or needs to be changed, I ask it to revise the code toward what I want. I also discuss things like the feasibility of gameplay mechanics and performance issues with AI. The artwork, animation, sound effects, music, and the creative decisions themselves are all handled by me.
Another reason I like making the game is that animation mainly gives people one complete visual experience. Of course, you can always go back and rewatch the details, but it lacks that feeling of being able to personally step into the world and experience it yourself. That's where I think a game has a huge advantage.
So I guess this is probably the biggest turning point in this devlog? (A good one, don't worry.)
What is the game? And how far along is it?
Battle Pillars.
Yeah, same name XD. It's just set at a different point in the story's timeline.
The game is a real-time strategy game (RTS), partly inspired by StarCraft, and there are currently two fully playable races in the game.
Shown below:
You might notice some familiar faces, as well as some characters you've never seen before. (The unfamiliar ones are related to the story.)
I won't go too deeply into the details here. Overall, I think the game is pretty fun already, but ideally, gameplay alone still doesn't feel like enough. That's why the game will eventually have a story mode.
The story mode will be related to the stage of the story I originally planned for the BP animation — more or less XD. The main difference is simply how it will be presented.
I think this will let people actually experience what the competitions in the world of BP feel like, while also getting to know the new characters. That's another advantage of games: you can experience them again and again, play from different perspectives, and explore things in different ways.
The battles people can currently play take place during the timeline of the Aura Age. The story mode, however, will begin before the Aura Age and gradually lead into the situation we see now.
Will the BP animation still be made?
Of course.
But it is now more like one piece of the larger story universe. The Evil Package animation is part of it too, since one of the characters in Evil Package is actually a key character in the BP story.
Just to repeat this again: I'm making the game first because it makes more sense in terms of time and production cost. It gives me a simpler way to open up the world of BP and see the project as a whole.
The animation project itself is still technically possible, but right now I'm not confident that I could finish Episode 2 and continue producing all the later episodes after that. That's why I want to first use the game to get a feel for how the entire story works.
New Characters for the BP Story / Animation
Some of the new characters who will appear in the story include:
The mermaid and her pet fish that I drew before. The mermaid is currently tentatively named Neri.
Next is Protector Vela.
Sharkie
And VIRUS, a robot.
His design still isn't completely finalized yet, so I don't have many more images of him to show here.
And here's a little bit of archaeology into the island's wildlife, which I may or may not have mentioned before.
The island will have chickens, rats, terns, green tree pythons, and Komodo dragons.
Some other artwork:
Overall, characters like VELA, NERI, and VIRUS exist almost like a second group of protagonists alongside the stone characters. They are all in the same place, experiencing the same larger story together.
The animals are there more to make the island feel alive and to give it a bit of its own culture. The different stone factions already have their own beliefs and traditions as well.
The point of these settings and characters is that sometimes they can help push the story forward, while at other times they simply exist as supporting parts of the world. That way, the story doesn't have to focus only on the stone characters competing with each other, and the island as a whole can feel much more alive.
HOW?
Of course, some people might still be wondering: how are all of these things supposed to connect together?
Overall, the story is about Aura.
That's all I can say for now XD
Honestly, I'm also curious about something: if I had insisted on making the animation first and never started developing the game, maybe even today I still wouldn't know exactly how I wanted to present the story of BP. Interesting.
But now I can already control these characters and have them walk around the maps. There is also an actual gameplay system in place. In the future, I really only need to write the story and add some smaller settings and systems to get the whole world moving!
My current plan is to first finish the RTS gameplay for all four races, then add two lighter competitive game modes. I want to make sure the game itself is fun first, and then gradually fill in the story so more people can experience the world of Battle Pillars.
Finally
No matter when you started following me or how long you've been following Battle Pillars, thank you so much for making it all the way to the end of this post.
Anyway, I haven't given up on animation. I simply found a medium that is easier for me to move forward with first.
The animation is still Battle Pillars, and the game is still Battle Pillars. Both can be used to experience and tell the story. The medium is different, and the production cost is different — that's really all it is.
If you'd like to support me through something more direct, I now have my own Patreon.
You can support me with a small monthly contribution, or purchase the printable artwork packs I've put together (and I'll continue adding more artwork to those packs in the future).
No matter how you choose to support me, your support isn't only practical help. To me, it's also a sign that you believe in this project, and part of what gives me the motivation to keep moving forward :)
-SpaceJaylee 2026/09/17
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